Contrary to Rainbow Coalition’s Targeted Voting, Shettima Advocates All-APC Ballot

• Tinubu worried over people’s wellbeing, promises more infrastructure devt 

• Yilwatda, Yari, Abbas, others rally Nasarawa for president’s re-election in 2027

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, told members and supporters of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State to vote all the way for the party, contrary to the idea being promulgated by the Rainbow Coalition.

The coalition led by Federal Capital Territory minister, Nyesom Wike, supports President Bola Tinubu, but diverts support in other election categories.

But Shettima, who led the APC delegation to Lafia for the party’s presidential campaign rally, urged voters in the state to deliver a straight-ticket victory for the party in the 2027 general election.

The vice president, who represented President Bola Tinubu, was joined at Lafia Square by APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.

The rally, which formed part of early mobilisation activities for the 2027 polls in the North-central, drew party leaders, members of the National Assembly, APC governors, and thousands of supporters from across Nasarawa State.

Addressing the crowd, Shettima said voting for Tinubu and other APC candidates would translate into more dividends of democracy for the people of the state and the country.

He said Nasarawa had benefited immensely from reforms at the centre, which had led to massive infrastructure development, not just in the state, but across the North-central zone and the country at large.

He cited examples of such projects, including the Lafia bypass linking the state to Benue, and the Nasarawa-Plateau-Bauchi-Gombe highway project, whose ground-breaking took place recently.

He said the Tinubu administration had placed Nasarawa at the centre of its Renewed Hope Agenda through investments in road infrastructure, education, and solid minerals development, and would sustain the momentum if given another mandate.

The vice president called for uniform voting for the party across all levels.

He declared, “APC from top to bottom, APC from bottom to top. We do not want a situation where they say vote for the president and not the governor, or vote for the governor and not the president, or the senator, or the House of Assembly. We want APC straight.”

Shettima also revealed that Tinubu was worried about the wellbeing of the people and the hardship they had endured and assured that the president would embark on more infrastructural projects in his second term.

He stated, “People of Nasarawa, today I bring you greetings and good news. I urge you all to come together and have a single voice.

“The government of President Tinubu and that of A.A. Sule are very concerned about the well-being of the people, and we have seen all the hardship endured by the people.

“The days don’t lie. Of course, people have suffered a lot, especially when it comes to the use of roads for transportation and even the easy movement of our farm produce. To this end, the government has built a bypass road linking Nasarawa to Makurdi, up to Shendam.

“This is why the president is promising that if you vote him in for the second term, I will do more for you. Also, to this end, I urge you to vote Senator Ahmed Wadada to become the governor of the state.”

Shettima said, “The main message from the president is that we vote APC from top to bottom and bottom to top. We don’t want to hear that they vote for APC in the Senate and leave the House of Representatives aside, nor vote for the President in APC and leave the rest. What we want is APC on all corners”

In his remarks, Yilwatda said Nasarawa was strategic to APC’s electoral calculations in the North-central, and commended party stakeholders in the state for their unity and organisation.

Abbas said the relationship between the National Assembly and the executive had never been better, stating that the synergy has resulted in the passage of 78 bills in three years in support of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The rally was also attended by Senator Ahmed Wadada, whose supporters chanted his name during the event, alongside other federal and state lawmakers, members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, and APC stakeholders from across the 13 local government areas of the state.

Describing the rally as a significant moment for APC and urging Nigerians to support the president for another term, Abbas stated that continuity was necessary for the completion of ongoing projects and the realisation of the government’s development objectives.

The speaker maintained that several projects currently being implemented would require additional time to achieve their intended outcomes, insisting that returning Tinubu to office would provide the administration the opportunity to consolidate its programmes.